GREGOR MACKINTOSH Says 'Fear Those Who Fear Him' Will Likely Be VALLENFYRE's Final Album

Gregor Mackintosh has revealed that “Fear Those Who Fear Him”, the third album from his VALLENFYRE project, will likely be the band’s final release.

The PARADISE LOST songwriter and guitarist broke the news during an interview with Metal Covenant to promote the follow-up to 2014’s “Splinters”, which came out in early June.

Asked by the site if it would it be rude to suggest that his heart was kind of with VALLENFYRE but that his common sense was with PARADISE LOST nowadays, Gregor said: “Um, VALLENFYRE is like my Saturday night out. Yeah, I have fun with it. I can’t deny that, but I can’t say that I take it too seriously. Again, like with PARADISE LOST, the music is quite serious, but it’s like, you know, having a few drinks and going down to the pub with your mates type of thing. But I wouldn’t say the heart, no. Because I don’t intend… You know… We’re 90 percent sure now that we’ll never record anything else with VALLENFYRE. So we’ll leave it as a trilogy. So if that’s where the heart was, I left it behind me.”

Mackintosh went on to say that this was the first time he was publicly discussing VALLENFYRE‘s future — or lack thereof — as a recording act. He explained: “It was just I was talking to Hamish [Hamilton Glencross, bass and guitar] about it the other day and we just seemed to think that as a trilogy record it makes sense.”

Recorded by the band’s new core lineup consisting of Mackintosh (vocals and guitar), Glencross (guitar and bass) and Waltteri Väyrynen (drums), “Fear Those Who Fear Him” was once again produced by Kurt Ballou (CONVERGE, NAILS) at GodCity Studio in Salem, Massachusetts and mastered by Brad Boatright (OBITUARY, BEASTMILK, YOB) at Audiosiege Mastering in Portland, Oregon. The cover artwork was created by Hal Rotter.

“Fear Those Who Fear Him” was released as gatefold LP+CD on limited colored and regular black 180-gram vinyl, as special edition digipak (international version), jewelcase CD (Canada, USA, Mexico only) and on all digital / streaming platforms.

Inspired by the likes of HELLHAMMER, CELTIC FROST, AUTOPSY, ANTISECT, DISCHARGE, NIHILIST, ENTOMBED, early NAPALM DEATH, early BATHORY and CONFLICT, VALLENFYRE have forged a trademark sound between rotting death metal driven by a chainsaw-like guitar sound, filthy doses of crust and early grind as well as crushing, depraved doom.

Onstage, VALLENFYRE performs as a quintet with live members Sam Kelly-Wallace (rhythm guitar) and Chris Casket (bass) completing the lineup.

Mackintosh said: “Most bands refine their sound over the first two or three albums. Becoming more technically adept and honing their craft. VALLENFYRE have done almost exactly the opposite. We have devolved, made things simpler and crush most of the melody under swathes of rotting noise. From ‘A Fragile King’ to ‘Splinters’ and now to ‘Fear Those Who Fear Him’, we have become more savage, more raw and less compromising!”